


Atrás en el Tiempo

by JustAndrea



Category: El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera
Genre: Cartoony violence, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Time Travel, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-30
Updated: 2016-09-30
Packaged: 2018-08-18 15:48:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8167438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAndrea/pseuds/JustAndrea
Summary: The idea of time travel sounds like a blast, and of course any kid would take the opportunity to do so. But, when Manny accidentally messes up history, and possibly prevents his father from ever becoming a superhero-! …Well, maybe he shouldn’t have touched that magic hourglass after all.





	1. Chapter 1

The starry skies were clear above Casa del Macho, which normally would’ve indicated that there would be a peaceful night ahead. However, just because there weren’t any actual clouds didn’t mean that a storm wasn’t brewing… 

The door was kicked open, just barely staying on its hinges as it slammed against the wall, waking Little Mule and Senor Chapi from their sleep. White Pantera walked in first, his ears low with a deep frown on his face and several yolk stains on his outfit.

“Aww, come on, Dad!” Manny said as he walked in behind him, “Don’t be mad!”

“Oh, I’m not mad…”

“Huh? Really?” the boy asked, grinning a bit now.

“No. But I am _veeery_ disappointed!”

 Manny deflated. “Doh, that’s just as bad!”

Rodolfo took a moment to rub the bridge of his nose - this entire situation had given him quite the headache - before looking at his son. “Manny, why on Earth would you choose to participate in a crime spree only seconds after stopping it?!”

“It, it wasn’t my fault!” Manny tried to argue, “Black Cuervo tricked me! Yeah, she used some sort of, feathery mind-trick on me!” His father gave him a look, and Manny shrunk a bit. Okay, yeah, even he knew that his dad wouldn’t buy that. 

In actuality, what had happened was that Black Cuervo simply told him about all the cool special features her family’s newest egg launching bazooka had while White Pantera tried to fight off her mother and grandmother. The ability to throw hard-boiled, unshelled and scrambled would’ve been enough, but the ability to egg several houses at once, as well as being able to throw egg stink bombs, well… How could anyone resist?

Manny certainly couldn’t, and at the time he had thought that one little try couldn’t hurt. He would just egg something small - a trash can or a mail box or something - just to try it out, and then he would help his dad defeat the Flock of Fury. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t know about the weapon’s rapid fire setting - which Black Cuervo had set it on before giving it to Manny, causing the bazooka to go berserk right in his hands. As a result of this, not only did Rodolfo get caught in the eggy crossfire, but he was forced to let the Flock get away in order to stop his son from egging the entire city. 

“I promise I’ll help you catch them next time!” Manny insisted, “Heck, I’ll even go catch them myself right-”

“Mijo,” Rodolfo stopped him, “The Flock of Fury getting away is not what I’m upset about.”

“…” Manny glanced away, shoving his hands in his pockets as his father continued. “I just don’t understand you sometimes, Manny. You can be such a good boy, but then you just turn on a dime and start causing havoc! You know that you shouldn’t do these things, and yet you do them anyway!”

“But it wasn’t my fault,” the boy mumbled, “Black Cuervo was the one who-”

“I know. But you were the one who took the bazooka in the first place, yes?” 

“…W-Well, well it’s not like it was anything dangerous or deadly! They’re just eggs!” Sure, Miracle City would probably smell like rotten eggs for a week, at least. …Which would be made ten times worse once the sun rose. …Plus all the birds that would no doubt be attracted. But, even so- “No harm done!”

“Yes harm done!” Rodolfo argued. He sighed, taking off his mask. “I know you can do better than this, mijo! That is why I am so hard on you, and why I am so disappointed.”

And there it was again. The disappointment, the ‘I know you can do better’ talk. It was all stuff he heard before, yet it was still a bit disheartening, and a bit frustrating. 

“Yeah, well…” Manny’s scowl deepened as he crossed his arms, “Easy for you to say.”

“Oh?” his father raised an eyebrow and crossed his own arms, “And just what does that mean?”

“Nothing.” “Manny…” The boy growled slightly. 

“I mean… It’s just sooo easy for you to only do good things because you’re already a hero! Never messing up and always doing the right thing without even trying…” He could feel his anger was starting to get the better of him, yet he didn’t try to stop it. “Heck, you were probably a goodie-goodie before you became a hero!”

Rodolfo glared at him. “Just because I have chosen the noble path of a hero does not mean that I haven’t struggled!” he retorted, his voice rising a bit. 

“Oh yeah right!” Manny was almost certain that his father had never even felt the temptation to egg a house or toilet paper a statue. He never had to try and decide between being a hero or a villain, he was practically born good! “You don’t even understand what it’s like to want to do something bad even though you know it’s bad, or even what it’s like to make a mistake. Not everyone has to be Mr. Perfect Hero like you, you know!”

“I never said I was perfect!” “But you act like it!” “I do not!” “Do so!” “Do not!” “Do so!” “Do not!” “Do-” “ENOUGH!” 

Both of them turned to the still doorway, where they saw Grandpapi walking inside (the hump on his back looked a bit bigger, and lumpier, than usual) and giving them both a disapproving scowl. “Honestly, I come home after a long night of- uh, eh, walking through the park, hoping to get some rest, and you two are yelling louder than a barrel of howler monkeys!”

Despite still being angry, Rodolfo tried to calm himself down. “I’m sorry, father. Manny was just-”

The boy gave a frustrated groan. “See! You don’t even bother saying that you’re part of the yelling too, you just say it’s my fault!”

The hero snapped his attention back to his son. “Well you are the one who egged the entire town!”

“Wait, that was you?” Grandpapi asked before chuckling a bit, “Heh, good work, boy.” 

Manny ignored him though. “I _know_ that was my fault, and I’m sorry, but you don’t have to make me feel worse about it by reminding me that I’ll never be as perfect as you!”

“Stop putting words into my mouth! I never said-!” But Manny care to listen anymore. He just stomped away from his father and grandfather, and headed towards his room, not bothering to stop even when Rodolfo used his full name (he had only managed to get to ‘O’Brian’ before being interrupted by the slamming of a bedroom door). 

“…” The hero sighed, slumping a bit as his anger started to turn into regret. Was he too hard on his son? He was just trying to discipline him as any good father would, hero or not, but… “Papi, do I put too much pressure on Manny to try and be as good of a hero as-” 

The man turned to look at his father, and blinked when he saw Puma Loco’s hands on his ‘hump’ as he pushed it up. Puma quickly noticed, and give a quick laugh. “Heh, I thought a new back brace would help keep me going, but the darn thing must be loose. I go fix it now!” And with that, he ran out of the room, leaving Rodolfo all alone.

Shaking his head at the old villain, he decided to just deal with that later and instead sit in his chair, hoping to cool down a bit. Maybe he could try talking to Manny again before he went to sleep… 

Manny was already in bed, though he was too angry and frustrated to sleep. Grabbing a pillow, he pressed it into his face and groaned into it. “He just doesn’t get it,” he said out loud, his voice muffled - though it must have still been clear enough to understand.

“Who doesn’t get what?” Manny moved the pillow and sat up slightly. He quickly spotted Frida casually standing in his balcony doorway. 

Manny blinked, then smiled slightly. She sure was getting good with that grappling hook they had ‘borrowed’ from Grandpapi’s weapons room. “What are you doing here?”

“Eh, just figured I would see how you were doing, and maybe get a few leftover eggs from you for a late night breakfast,” Frida replied, walking into her best friend’s bedroom, “Though, now that I’m here, it looks like you could use someone to vent to. That or several hours of Super Macho Fighter 3 and some junk food to get your mind off your problems.”

As nice as that sounded, he felt like he needed to get this off his chest. Manny sighed. “It’s just my dad. We, sorta got into a big fight. And, I guess I started it, but…” He scowled, squeezing the pillow in his hands, “But he just doesn’t get how hard it is to be good, or how easy it is to make mistakes. I know he just wants me to do the right thing and be my best all that stuff, but… But I feel like most of the time he gets mad at me for just making mistakes or being anything other than ‘good’, and for not being as perfect as he is. …For not being a great hero like he is.”

Frida gave him a sympathetic look. Even if he didn’t say it out right too often, she knew how Manny felt about not being able to fully decide if he was good or evil, and how frustrated (and guilty) it made him sometimes. Sitting down on his bed, she gave him a pat on the back. “Hey, it’s alright, dude. And I know the feeling. My dad’s a cop, remember?”

“Yeah, but even he blames all the bad stuff you do on me,” Manny replied, looking down at his knees.

“That’s- …true. But, um, at least I don’t blame it on you?” she told him with a forced smile, hoping to help - though it didn’t look like it was helping too much. Frida patted his shoulder again. “Yeah, now that I think about it, it really isn’t fair to you. I mean, he never even had to deal with being a hero _and_ a kid, so-!”

“Actually, he did,” Manny interrupted, his frown deepening, “My dad and grandpapi told me that pretty much all the Rivera men get their objects of power when they’re thirteen. So yeah, my dad was a super powered kid too.” He scowled slightly. “And I bet he was _still_ a perfect hero even back then.” 

“Well… If it helps any, I think you’re pretty great.”

There was a moment of silence, and Manny turned to look at his best friend. “…Man… That was so cheesy!”

Frida snickered. “I know, right? So lame!”

“Like something out of one of those corny tv shows about ‘the power of friendship’ or something like that!” “Yeah, haha!” The two laughed for a couple minutes at that, causing Manny’s mood to rise a bit. 

Happy to see her friend smiling once more, Frida hopped off the bed. “So, with that taken care of, how about we start playing some Macho Fighter! Orrr, we could sneak out and head over to the movie theater? I’ve heard they got those new motion seats~”

Manny sat up a bit straighter. “The ones that shake and move along with the movie so it feels like you’re on a thrill ride while you’re watching a movie?!” He practically leapt off the bed at that. “What are we waiting for?! Let’s-!”

A loud noise - what sounded like hard glass hitting a wooden floor - interrupted him. “Aw, come on now!”

“What the heck was that about?” Frida asked. 

“I dunno,” Manny shrugged, though he was curious about it now. Quietly as they could, the two kids snuck out of the bedroom, and down the hall to Puma Loco’s bedroom. Already being near-experts at sneaking around, they (slowly) opened the old bedroom door and peaked inside, with the old villain being none the wiser.

Puma scowled, and carefully lifted the stolen, mystical object up and back on its spot on his dresser, putting it on its side. “I’ve heard of time being slippery, but this is ridiculous!” he mumbled, “Oh well, at least it didn’t break.” His scowl turned into an evil grin. “Heh, imagine all of the things I could steal with this… And I wouldn’t even get arrested for it because they wouldn’t be valuable yet! It’s the perfect crime!”

“What is he talking about?” Frida whispered. Manny shushed her, and squinted his eyes, trying to see just what Grandpapi had. Was it some kind of weapon, or another one of his stolen treasures?

“Hmm, maybe I should test it out now,” Puma wondered out loud, tapping his chin, “Just to make sure this thing even works.” After all, it wouldn’t be the first time that the words from the villain rumor mill caused him to steal something that was no more magical or powerful than he was (sans hat, of course). 

But before he could even reach for the object, a metal arm came out from his sombrero, holding a ringing clock in front of his face. “Ay! It’s almost time already? I’m going to be late!”

“Time for what?” Frida asked curiously. 

Manny rolled his eyes a bit. “Grandpapi’s sneaking out to go see some evil old lady singing group do a reunion concert.” Puma had been playing his old records featuring them for the past three weeks, and frankly, Manny still couldn’t understand what his grandfather saw (or heard) in them. 

“Time traveling device or no, I am not going to risk missing the Witches of San Angel performing together again!” With that, he activated his golden sombrero of chaos, and flew out his bedroom window towards Casa de Adios - leaving the two friends, and his recently stolen object, behind.

“…Dude, did he say ‘time travel’?” Frida asked after a moment. Not bothering to answer, Manny simply opened the door, and once they were able to get a closer look at it, their eyes widened in awe. 

The stolen object was a large hourglass that was sitting on its side - with the sand inside it looking more like shavings of gold, and a wooden top and base that was not only shined, but a design had been carved into it to make the wood look almost like a thick piece of rope. 

“Whoaaaaa~” they said in unison, their expressions slowly going from agape in awe, to mischievous grins.

“Man, no wonder Grandpapi stole this!” Manny said, excited now, “I mean, just imagine all the things you could do with it!”

“Yeah!” Frida shouted, “Like going back to when dinosaurs still existed!”

“Or going back to see all the great, old superheroes and villains in their prime!” Manny added. He could only imagine how awesome it would be to see his ancestors fight off history’s greatest villains (and heroes, in some cases).

“Or we could go to the future and play all the newest video games!” “And all the newest movies and tv shows!” “And get hover cars to bring back to this time! Or go back to last Christmas or summer vacation and relive it all again!” “YEAH!” It all sounded amazing.

“Then what are we waiting for! Let’s DO IT!” Frida yelled, grabbing the hourglass.

“YE- Huh?” Manny stopped. Talking about all the things they could do while time traveling was one thing, but actually doing it…

“Now how does this thing work anyway?” Frida managed to only give it a couple shakes before Manny took it away from her, turning it once in the process. “Heyyy!”

“Frida, maybe we should wait until Grandpapi gets back,” he told her as he held it in his hands, not noticing the faint glow it had now, “I mean, we don’t even know how this thing works, and what if-?”

“Relaaax,” Frida told him, taking the hourglass back (and unknowingly turning it again), “I’m sure we can figure it out! I mean, how hard can it be? This thing doesn’t even have any buttons!”

Manny frowned, and took it back, accidentally turning it once more. “But, what about that whole time-space continuum thing?”

Frida snatched it back, another turn. “Come onnn! Old British guys do this kind of stuff ALL the time, and nothing ever happens to them!”

“But-!” “Manny, if we really screw up, we can just go back and stop ourselves from doing whatever we did!” “That-! …Actually makes sense!” Manny smiled, “Well, then I guess one trip couldn’t hurt…”

“Exactly! So, let’s-” It was at that point the two kids finally noticed the bright glow the hourglass had from all the times they had turned it, and was now starting to shake in Frida’s hands. “W-Whoa, hey! W-W-What’s going on?!”

“I don’t know! I didn’t touch anything on it! Did you?” “N-No!” The hourglass shook harder, and the glow from it was starting to envelop Frida’s entire body. “Frida!” Manny grabbed onto the hourglass, and held on tight as the glow started to surround him as well. Within seconds, it felt like the two of them were floating, disappearing, being pulled apart.

Unable to help themselves, they closed their eyes and screamed as the hourglass pulled them away from their place in time, a strong wind blowing past their faces. It only lasted a few seconds - though it felt much longer than that - before everything stopped.

()()()()()()()()

“…Mmmm….” Moaning slightly, Manny started to come to. He felt something solid underneath him - that was a good sign, at least - and he still felt the hourglass in his hands. “Frida…?” Opening his eyes, he was able to see Frida laying on the ground in front of him, holding onto the hourglass as well and looking dazed but unharmed.

“Man… That was NOT as much fun as I thought it would be,” she told him, groaning slightly.

“Tell me about it.” As they tried to sit up, they noticed that they were no longer standing on carpet and wood, but on hard blacktop. “What the…?” They were, in the middle of a road? Looking around some more, they saw various shops and buildings around them, looking very familiar. They were still in Miracle City, no doubt about that. Really, the only difference was that it was the afternoon instead of the evening.

“Aw man!” Frida crossed her arms, “We only went back in time a few hours? What a ripoff!”

Manny started to complain as well, but stopped when he started to notice subtle differences in their surroundings. The sidewalks were a bit smoother, and the buildings a bit less worn down. Speaking of which, despite most of them having the same signs and names, there were a few with different names.

“Uhh, Frida? I don’t think we just met back a few hours.” “Hm? How do you know?” “Well, just look at the sidewalks, and the buildings. See!” He pointed at a nearby furniture store. “Didn’t that used to be the Cardboard store?”

“Hmm… Yeah, now that you mention it, things are different! The sidewalks, the businesses, the buildings, the-” A very loud horn interrupted her, and they both turned around, eyes wide. “-GIANT TRUCK COMING RIGHT TOWARDS US!” And judging by the speed it was going at, and the fact that it wasn’t slowing down at all, it was probably a stolen truck too.

With no time to get out of the way, the two friends screamed, holding each other and bracing themselves for the impact. But before they could be it, a smaller, much less deadly impact hit them, pushing them out of the way. “AH!” “Oof!”

They were back on the pavement, but at least they were out of the way, and the truck sped by - followed by several police cars. “H-Huh?” Manny and Frida blinked, shocked at what had happened. “What-?”

“Are you two alright?” A hand was held out in front of Manny’s face. Glancing up, Manny saw that the hand belonged to a kid that looked about his age. “That must have been terrifying for you two!”

“Uh, yeah.” “But, we’re fine!” Frida insisted, getting up on her own, with Manny soon following. “Yeah. But, uh, thanks for your help, kid.”

The boy smiled, taking a moment to brush the dust off his clothes and adjust his glasses before nodding at Manny. “It was no trouble at all! I’m just glad that you two are alright. But, what were you doing in the middle of the road? And-” He tried to get a look at the hourglass Frida was holding. “What is-?”

“N-Nothing!” Manny yelled, “Just, uh, trying to figure out how long it would take to, um… cross the street?”

“Yeah, that’s it!” Frida nodded, “So if you don’t mind, we’d like to get back to our experiment-thingy, okay?”

“Oh. Well, okay.” The boy took a step back, giving the two travelers some space. “Bye!”

“Yeah, see ya,” Manny nodded, waving the kid off. Once it looked like he was far enough away, he turned his attention to Frida - as well as the hourglass. “Man, good thing we were still holding that thing, otherwise we would’ve been stuck here forever.”

“Yeah,” Frida frowned. As fun as the idea of time traveling sounded, she couldn’t imagine being trapped in some unknown time-period forever. Though, speaking of which… “But, um, where exactly _is_ here? Er, I mean, _when_ is here?”

“No idea. But, I know where we could find out,” Manny told her, smiling a bit as he started to lead the way up. “Come on, there should be a newspaper and magazine stand up this street and around the corner.”

“Oh yeah! Good thinking, Manny!” Frida then smiled. “Heh, maybe we could grab some super old magazines and stuff too, and try to sell them once we get back home.”

“Heh, maybe, if they’re old enough.” And if they could even get back home. But they could worry about that later. Right now, they just needed to figure out when they were. 

As they walked, they couldn’t help but look around at all the changes in this older Miracle City. The changes weren’t too drastic, but there were still things that seemed unfamiliar, such as the older toys and smaller tvs in the shop windows, and the ‘oldies’ (”Guess they would be ‘newies’ here.”) music they heard from cars as they drove past.

“Okay, here we are. Central Street!” At least that was one thing that hadn’t changed. “And around this corner should be-!” Manny stopped, blinking. Instead of seeing a newspaper stand, he only saw a small churro cart. 

“Churros!” The young vendor shouted, “Only ten cents!” Two construction workers walked past him, scoffing slightly. “Tc’ch, I remember when they were only five cents!” one of them said. 

But Frida, on the other hand, could only look at the price on the sign in awe. “Fresh churros… Only ten cents?!” She grabbed Manny and shook him slightly in excitement. “What is this wonderful time?!”

Rolling his eyes, Manny gently pushed her off him. “Hmm, there’s gotta be another way to find out when we are. I mean, there’s gotta be place to get a newspaper or a calendar or something _somewhere_ around here, right Frida? …Frida?”

“Yeah yeah, news calendar, sure. Hey, do you have a dime I can borrow?” “Frida!” “What? I’ll pay you back!”

Just then, the ground shook, and the sound of broken glass could be heard. Manny looked around. “What was that?”

“Ohhhh no… Not again!” The churro vendor quickly closed up his cart and hung a ‘Back In 5 Minutes’ sign on it before running to take cover. Within seconds, a demon-like beast that looked about twelve feet tall with red skin and green horns came into view. It had yellow teeth, and its body looked strong, though sorta shrank towards the bottom, making it sorta look like an upside down triangle - or a buffed up chili pepper, It gave a loud roar, causing several people on the street to shriek and run away in fear.

“Huh, I knew Miracle City’s always been full of villains and heroes, but I guess it’s always been full of monsters too,” Frida commented. She wasn’t too concerned though, and neither was Manny.

Smirking, he put his hand on his belt buckle. “This looks like a job-” He stopped when he heard something that, at first, sounded like an echo before he realized that it was actually another person.

“This looks like a job for… WHIIITE PANTERAAAAA!”

Manny gasped. It, it couldn’t be?! Turning around, he saw the same kid from before - still wearing thick brown glasses and a white dress shirt with grey pants. However, it was at that moment when he kicked off his black loafers - which, now that Manny thought about it, did look a size or two too big - and revealed the Bronze Boots of Truth underneath. He also reached into his pants pocket and pulled out an obviously handmade mask, putting it on under his glasses.

The beast roared again, not intimidated by the boy whatsoever - but the young hero wasn’t intimidated either, and with a confident smile, he ran towards the miniature monster.

“No way…” Manny could hear Frida say as he continued to stare in awe. He just couldn’t believe it.

“Dad…?”

**TO BE CONTINUED!**


	2. Chapter 2

The red and green, pepper-like monster roared at the young hero as he ran towards him - and then past him. “Mm?” the monster blinked, and turned to see where his enemy was going.

“Whoops.” Rodolfo frowned a bit, but perked up when he saw that he was heading towards a lamp post. Holding out his arm, he managed to grab the metal pole and used it to turn himself around and back towards the monster. “Ha ha!” Looking confident once more, Rodolfo let himself run past the monster again, and this time used a wall to kick himself off of and back towards the beast.

For nearly a full minute, the young Pantera did this - bouncing back and forth across the street and around the monster, who continued watching him run around, turning and spinning to try and catch a glimpse of him until he was completely dizzy.

 _*SCREEEEECH*_ Rodolfo managed to stop himself - and in the process left a pretty large crack in the road (he would have to remember to try and fix that up later). “There! Now that the beast is confused, I have the upper hand!” With that, he ran over to a nearby shop that had sold various supplies for both construction and crafting. Grabbing a bundle of rope. “Excuse me, Sir, but may I please borrow this rope so I may save our town from being destroyed by a monster? I promise to pay for the rope later once I’ve-”

“JUST TAKE IT ALREADY!” the frightened cashier told him, his eyes focused on the monster - which was slowly starting to come out of his confusion - standing just a few feet outside his shop window.

“Gracias!” Rodolfo thanked him before sprinting outside. Running in a tight circle around the beast, he managed to wrap the thick rope around it’s arms and waist, and finished it off with a perfect knot and bow. 

With the monster no longer a threat, the people on the street cheered for the young hero. Rodolfo grinned, looking humble yet still happy with his work. “Thank you, citizens of Miracle City! It was my honor to help!”

“…Huh.” Frida crossed her arms, giving a small smile. “Not bad.”

“Yeah…” Considering the argument he’d had with his father less than an hour ago (or, in this case, a couple decades in the future), Manny figured seeing something like this would’ve just made him angry again. But actually seeing it - his father so young and obviously a rookie, not quite as ‘perfect’ as Manny thought he would be yet still managing to save the day. Well… Manny couldn’t help but be sorta proud.

So, Manny managed to give a small smile at the scene. However, it didn’t last long once he noticed the monster behind his father. It was gritting its teeth, slowly breaking the ropes that trapped it one-by-one. But Rodolfo, still focusing on the cheering crowd, didn’t even notice. 

“Oh no!” He put his hands on his belt buckle once more, but then stopped. He was sure his dad - even as a kid - knew his family’s history. What would he think if he saw Manny with one of his family’s powerful heirlooms. How would Manny even explain it?! 

“I can’t use my powers, not here,” Manny told himself, dropping his hands while the monster continued to try to break its bindings, and Rodolfo continued to be blissfully ignorant about it. Manny scowled. Just because he couldn’t use his El Tigre powers- “Doesn’t mean I can’t still fight!” 

“Huh? Dude, what are you-?” Before Frida could even finish her question, Manny was running into the action. 

“Heh, gracias, everyone! Now, I shall take this monster out of the city, so it will never try to harm any of you aga-!” The monster growled, loud enough for Rodolfo to turn around. The boy gasped when he saw how close the beast was to breaking free. He heard the people around him gasped in surprise and fear - he couldn’t let them get hurt! Gulping, the young hero took a step back and tentatively brought his fists up, preparing for an actual fight. 

But, before the monster could completely break free- *WHAM!* Rodolfo fell back in surprise while the monster started to screech in pain, it’s face now hidden. Manny laughed, holding as tightly as he could onto the trashcan. “What’s the matter, big guy? Don’t like trash can drums?” He hit the side of the can, and caused the monster to screech again. Maybe he wasn’t _as_ strong as he could be without his powers, but he was still strong enough to help his dad out.

With its arms still tied down, the monster bucked and tried to shake Manny off, but Manny just kept holding on and hitting the trash can, making it more and more disoriented until it finally fell over. The citizens cheered once more, and Manny hopped off the now-harmless monster’s head.

“That was amazing!” “What a hero!” “And he doesn’t even have powers!” “He’s incredible!” “And so brave!”

“Aw, it was nothing, really!” Manny said, giving a small wave of his hand. Honestly, compared to the other stuff he had fought, it really was nothing. But obviously, not everyone shared the same opinion.

“I, I wouldn’t say it was nothing.” Manny glanced over at Rodolfo, who was giving him a small, slightly forced. “That was pretty amazing. And you were so brave!”

“Well, hey, I just wanted to help you out, you know?” Manny told him, “Uh, I mean, I’m sure you could’ve totally taken that pepper monster out by yourself! I just thought-”

“It is fine,” Rodolfo insisted, his smile becoming a bit more genuine now, “I appreciate the help, amigo. Thank you.”

“No prob!” “Yeah yeah, no prob!” Frida said, taking Manny’s arm, “And now that the day is saved, we should probably get going! Right?”

“Oh! Yeah!” Following Frida’s lead, he gave his young father a small wave. “See you later, Da-uh - D-Dude! See you later, dude!”

Rodolfo blinked. Dude? “Um, yes. Goodbye!” With that, he turned back to the monster - and saw that it was back on its feet (with the trash can still on its head). Fortunately, it wasn’t looking to attack Rodolfo or any of the nearby buildings, and instead stumbled towards a manhole. With a strong kick, the monster removed the manhole cover, and escaped down it. He was all alone now.

By this point, most of the people on the streets - knowing that they were no longer in danger - had stopped paying attention, but Rodolfo still couldn’t help but feel a sting of failure…

“Nice fighting out there,” Frida told Manny, giving him a light punch on the arm, “I had no idea you could fight without your El Tigre powers!”

Manny gave her a bit of a look for that, but smiled nonetheless. “Of course I can! And besides, anyone could defeated that thing! It was only like ten feet tall!”

Frida giggled a bit. “Heh, yeah. Though, it looked like your dad was sorta freaked out by it. Good thing you stepped in then, he probably would’ve gotten his butt kicked.”

“Whaaat? No he wouldn’t have!” “I dunno, he looked sorta freaked out.” “Well, yeah, but that’s just because he’s still new at this! You know my dad, he never runs away from a fight, and he always wins!”

“Maybe as an adult he always wins, but who knows how he is now,” Frida told him with a shrug, “And hey, I thought you sorta wanted him to fail a couple times.”

Manny tried to argue but faltered a bit, glancing away. “Y-Yeah well, maybe. I just - I don’t know! I just wanted to not be so hard on me for not being as good as he is, and maybe for him to mess up every once in a while! That doesn’t mean I want him to be a failure!”

“Geez, sorry!” Manny sighed, taking a moment to calm down. “Look, I’m sure your dad will just go home and train tonight, and then he’ll totally beat the next bad guy he comes up against!”

“…Yeah, you’re probably right,” Manny nodded, “That’s what he’ll do. …And as for us, we should probably figure out how that-” He pointed at the hourglass in her hands- “-works so we can get out of here and back home.”

“Right. Hmm, maybe we could sneak into the school library and try to find a book on it!” Frida suggested, “And it should be pretty easy to do, since Chakal isn’t vice principal yet!”

Manny smiled at that thought. Too bad they couldn’t go to school in this time period. “Okay, let’s head over there right now. It should be just a few blocks away, right? Let’s go!”

“Right!” The two friends picked up their pace slightly, and continued their trek across the city. They knew the school would most likely be closed, but that just made things easier. They just needed to find a door or window with an easy-to-break lock, or a window that could be unlatched using a metal claw, and they were good. 

The light ahead turned from yellow to red, and the duo was forced to stop at the crosswalk and wait. There were already a few people there - including a couple men that looked like they would fit in well in a gang, or even the Mustache Mafia. So, Manny and Frida made sure to avert their eyes and pretty much ignore them, not wanting to start any trouble by staring. 

“…Hey, did you hear about Puma’s boy, and that monster that showed up around Central Street? ‘Bout half an hour?” “Well, I heard about the monster at least. That thing smashed up my favorite bar.” “Eh, that place was a dump, anyway.” “Says you. Anyway, if it’s something that involves the so-called White Pantera, I’m sure it was disappointing.”

Manny clenched his fists slightly, though he didn’t speak up. He simply continued to listen. They had to be talking about some other White Pantera, right?

“Actually, it wasn’t too bad this time. Sure, he still mostly used that runnin’ of his, but he did stop the thing for a couple minutes. But then it starts to escape, and just before the kid gets the stuffing beatin’ out of him, this other kid - who doesn’t even have powers! - comes in and saves him.”

“Geez, just when I thought Puma’s boy couldn’t be any more of a failure. What is this, the seventh or eighth time he’s tried ‘saving the day’?” “Yep. This was probably the closest he’s been too, but he still needed someone to save his skin in the end.” “Hmph, some hero. Wonder if he’s finally gonna give it up and just join the villain business like his father.” “Ha! I hope not. He may be a lousy hero, but he’d be an even lousier villain.”

The light finally turned green, and the men started to walk across the street, leaving the two kids behind. “Manny, come on,” Frida told him as she started to move, pulling his arm slightly, “The light’s green, let’s go!”

“Frida, didn’t you hear what those guys said?” Manny asked her.

“Uhh, not really. Was I supposed to?” 

Manny ignored her question. “They were saying how the White Pantera is a failure, and he’s never even won a fight!”

“Well, yeah, he’s a rookie!” Frida reminded him, “But it’s like we said, he’ll just train up and start winning fights when he’s older! I mean, hello, we’ve actually seen him win fights once he’s all grown up! So don’t worry about it!” With that, she pulled him off the street corner and led him across the street, managing to reach the other side before light changed again.

Manny frowned, still looking worried. “I don’t know, I mean… What if Dad was supposed to defeat that monster, not me? What if…” His eyes widened. “What if he didn’t need me to save him in the first place?” He had underestimated Rodolfo, just like everyone else had, and now… “Now he probably doesn’t even think he can be a hero.”

“What?! Manny, you’re getting worried over nothing!” Frida argued, “Your dad loves being a hero! He wouldn’t give it up over something like this!”

“He loves being a hero, yeah… But he’s not a hero yet.” Just a rookie, a wannabee. “And, if he doesn’t become a hero, what does that mean for the future?”

Frida tried to argue, but stopped when she really started to think about the implications. “…That could actually be pretty bad.” Miracle City was full of heroes, yes, but White Pantera was the strongest and the hardest working. “Man, if your dad’s not saving people and fighting villains, who knows what could happen to Miracle City! Or to you!”

That’s right… If his father wasn’t a super hero, would he even bother passing on the El Tigre belt to Manny? “Even if we’re wrong and Dad hasn’t given up on being a hero, we gotta make sure!” Manny said, determined not to let his dad become some pencil-pusher and the city become overrun with villains because of a mistake he made. “Dad will become a great hero! _This I swear!_ ” 

“Yeah! …So how are we gonna do that?” Frida asked.

Manny smiled. “I think I have an idea.”

()()()()()()()()()

Meanwhile, in the downtown area near the docks, the red monster emerged from the sewer. Looking a bit embarrassed at its failure, it trudged solemnly towards the abandoned factory where it was created. 

Opening up the door, it could see their creator standing over a large cauldron that, instead of sitting on top of a roaring fire, was sitting on top of a metal platform connected to large towers. The powerful electricity from these towers was the perfect way to cook his newest creation. “So, Chili Pepper Monster,” he asked, not even turning to look at his monster, “Did you wreck the city? Did you at least destroy a couple of things?” 

The red monster gave a sad growl, shaking his head as it tried to babble out an excuse. The mad scientist clenched his fists, his mechanical eye twitching slightly. “No… It’s, IT’S JUST NOT FAIRRRR!”

The scientist hopped down from the step-ladder he was standing on (curse his short size!), and stamped his foot - letting his typical twelve year old nature take over for a few moments. “I try my best to be a good villain, just like father! And a good villain’s job is to spread destruction and chaos! GLORIOUS destruction and chaos! So, I start making evil inventions and dastardly science projects! I even make strong chili pepper monster! Sure he may not be big, but he is still EVIL!” He then paused his rant so he could glared at his monster. “But maybe I was wrong, since you were apparently defeated by White Pantera of all people!”

If it was any other hero, maybe the defeat wouldn’t have stung so much. But White Pantera was such a pathetic wannabee hero, and yet he still managed to-?! The monster growled again as it tried to explain. “Hmm? …He teamed up with someone?” the child scientist asked, “Some other boy with no powers? Hmm, maybe he decided to get a sidekick. Though really, the sidekick would probably make a better hero than Pantera.”

The monster nodded in agreement at that. All Pantera could do was run. The power of speed could certainly be impressive, but only if the person with it knew how to use it. “Well, no matter,” he told his creation as he used his mechanical arm to grab the edge of the cauldron and pull himself back up onto his step-ladder. The boy grinned at the bubbling substance within it. 

“With my newest creation, I will show how _eeeevil_ I can be! And no one will ever forget the name, of _DR. CHIPOTLE!_ ” Despite the fact that there were no clouds outside, he still heard the sound of thunder after he screamed his name. Ah, yes. It would’ve been the perfect moment, if not for-

 _“Huh? Junior? Is someone calling for me?”_  

The boy rolled his eyes, pouting a bit at the now ruined moment before replying, “No Father, go back to watching your television shows.”

()()()()()()()()()

“Rodolfoooo! I’m hooome!” 

The boy looked up from his book and over at the doorway. “Oh, good evening, Papi…” he replied, unable to even muster up a small smile - especially when he noticed how full his father’s pockets were. 

Puma frowned. He had seen that look on his son’s face before. “Another bad day?”

Rodolfo nodded, his eyes misting up a bit. Giving him a sympathetic look, Puma walked over to Rodolfo and patted his shoulder. “I know it can be hard getting into the super-business. You just eh, have to find your footing, that’s all!”

“…” Rodolfo glanced up at his father. “Do you really think so, Papi?”

“Yes, of course! Just keep trying, mijo! …And, if it still don’t work out, you could always join the villain business!” “Papi!” “Heh, I’m kidding I’m kidding!” Really it was more like wishful thinking, but as badly as he wanted a supervillain for a son, Puma also knew him well enough to know that Rodolfo didn’t have an evil bone in his body. Still, keeping the option open couldn’t hurt either…

“How about we have some flan tonight, huh? That always cheer you up, right?” “I guess…” “There’s a good boy. Now go wash up, dinner will be ready soon.” And with that, Puma headed into the kitchen.

“Okay…” Rodolfo muttered as he hopped down from the couch, sighing a bit. He wanted to talk to his father about what he was thinking, maybe even get some advice. But when he already knew the answer, there didn’t seem to be much of a point to it. “I just wish-”

 _*ding dong!*_  “Huh?” “Rodolfo, get the door!” Curious, he walked over to the front door, and opened it - and his curiosity only increased when he saw who was there.

“Hey man!” “Remember us?” Manny and Frida made sure to give him big friendly smiles, hoping they would be convincing enough.

“Um… Yes, I remember you,” Rodolfo answered, “Though, I don’t think you two have told me your names.”

“Our names? I mean, yes! Our names! We were just getting to that!” Manny took a moment to think. “My name is, uhhh… Fred? Yeah, Fred! And this is-”

“Guitarra McAwesomeface!” Frida interrupted, grinning at her fake name (if she was going to have a fake name, then why not make it something cool sounding?) while the two boys just raised an eyebrow at it.

“Uh, yeah. Anyway, we were wondering if we could hang out here for a bit,” Manny told him, quickly smiling once more, “Maybe even stay the night!”

Rodolfo blinked. “Stay here? With me? But, I hardly know you.”

“But I helped you take care of that monster earlier, riiiight?” “Yes… But-” “Right! So that means you can trust us! And besides we’re, uh, in need!” “In need?”

“Yep!” Frida nodded, “We’re from wayyy out of town, and we came here for a school field trip-”

“In the summer?” Rodolfo asked, looking a bit confused now, “But I didn’t think summer school had-”

Thankfully, despite her mistake, Frida didn’t skip a beat. After all, she was fairly experienced with lying. “Special kind of summer school,” she told him, “Really laid back and all about ‘experience learning’ and all that stuff.”

“Yeah, but there wasn’t enough room at the motel our class was staying at, so now we need to find a place to stay,” Manny added, “And, since we know you, and your house IS pretty big…” He and Frida then flashed their ‘pleading puppy-dog’ looks at him.

“Well… I suppose that I owe you something for helping me earlier… And besides, it wouldn’t be very nice to make you two sleep out on the streets… But, my father-”

“Trust me, he won’t mind!” Manny insisted, “And uh, we’ll help clean the dishes and stuff too!”

Frida blinked. “Wait, we’re doing what now?” Manny ignored her.

“Hmmm… Well, alright then.” The two friends smiled in relief, with Manny being thankful that his dad was just as hospitable as a kid as he was as an adult. 

Opening the door up a bit wider, Rodolfo led them inside and into the kitchen. “Papi, we have guests!”

“What?!” The villain nearly knocked over the pots and pans on the stove in surprise. However, once he saw that the guests were kids and not adults, he relaxed a bit. Still, he thought that it was best to make sure these kids weren’t undercover cadets, or little thieves trying to steal his rightfully-stolen goods. 

“Sooo, you are friends of Rodolfo’s?” Puma asked them as a mechanical hand with a magnifying glass came out from his sombrero. 

“Well, um, sort of,” Manny answered with a nervous smile as he pulled down his shirt, trying to hide his El Tigre belt the best he could (even if his dad didn’t know what it was on sight, his grandfather definitely would!).

“We’re very good acquaintances,” Frida added, wrapping a friendly arm around Rodolfo’s shoulders to try and prove this. When the mechanical arm came closer to her, she just lifted her head up slightly and tried to keep calm, hoping that it wouldn’t see the valuable hourglass she had hidden in her goggles.

Even with their claims, Puma examined them for a few moments before retracting his magnifying glass. “Hmmm… Well then, I guess you can stay for a while,” he told them. Manny and Frida just smiled politely at him and thanked him, holding back a sigh of relief. Another lucky break.

As an added bonus, dinner seemed to go smoothly as well. Sure, there were a couple of questions that were a bit invasive - things like “Where are you from?” and “Why don’t you have any luggage?” - but a few more little white lies took care of those, and the rest of the conversation was pretty casual. But even so, Manny couldn’t help but notice the strangeness of it all.

Sharing a meal with his younger family was a bit weird, yet there was still a bit of familiarity to it. His grandpapi - who now had black hair instead of grey, was a bit more clean-shaven, and didn’t have nearly as many wrinkles - still added extra salt and pepper to his food and had tea with his meal instead of water or pop. As for his dad, while he didn’t remind Manny about table manners, he certainly remembered them himself. A napkin on his lap, no elbows on the table, making sure to take small bites - if it was polite and proper, he did it. 

Some of the conversations were a bit familiar as well, like Grandpapi subtly bragging about his latest crime and being pleased with how well the villain community was doing. Of course, Rodolfo didn’t feel the same, but he still politely nodded and listened to his father, as any respectful son would - though, when there was a chance to change the conversation, he always took it. 

“Man, I would’ve thought there would be more fighting and stuff,” Frida whispered to Manny at one point.

“I know, right?” he replied, still sort of surprised at the present situation. He would’ve figured that Puma would at least scold Rodolfo for not being ‘evil’ enough, just like how Rodolfo would scold him for being bad. But, despite the strangeness of it all… It was actually sort of nice. 

It wasn’t long before their dinner and their dessert had been eaten, and - once Manny and Frida reluctantly kept their promise of cleaning the dishes - Rodolfo led them to his room. “I think we’re about the same size, Fred, so you could probably borrow a pair of my pajamas. But I don’t think we’ll have anything for you, Guitarra. Sorry.”

Frida blinked. “Who?” Manny quickly elbowed her in the side. “Oh, yeah, me! And, don’t worry about it, Rodolfo! I don’t mind sleeping in my clothes.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Manny added, “It’s no big deal.”

“Oh. Well, alright. If you say so.” They continued to the end of the hall, eventually stopping at Manny’s room - or rather, Manny’s future room. For the time being, it was Rodolfo’s room. And, once the door was opened and they could see inside, Manny saw just how different their rooms were.

The walls were still green, but they were a shade lighter, given how new the paint was. The bed was neatly made, and on the walls were a couple posters for the League of Alliance Society. As for stuff he had to entertain himself, it seemed like all he had were a small shelf with a few books and comics on it, a couple of action figures - neatly put away instead of just laying on the floor - and a soccer ball. 

“Whoa, dude… Were you guys robbed or something?” Frida asked.

“Uhh, no?” Rodolfo answered, a bit confused.

“But, there’s hardly anything in here!” Manny told him, “I mean, look! You can actually see the floor.”

“Well, cleanliness is an important part of keeping a nice room,” Rodolfo retorted with a proud smile, “And, while I may not have that many toys-” Mostly because he insisted on buying his toys himself instead of always asking for things from his father, even if his allowance couldn’t get him much- “I can still find many fun things to do with them!”

Manny picked up a Silver Sombrero action figure and examined it. A bit stiff, with none of the bells and whistles that toys from his time had, but still, not a bad toy. “Yeah, I guess these things are kinda cool. And besides, when you get really bored, you can always go watch tv out in the living room, right?”

“Well, ah,” Rodolfo glanced away, rubbing the back of his neck, “Papi actually stole that television, so I try not to watch it too often. I mean, if I did, that would basically be stealing too, wouldn’t it?” Despite his answer being not at all surprising to them, Manny and Frida couldn’t help but roll their eyes at it. “Buuuut, I do have something that Papi gave me that he actually paid for!” 

He ran over to his dresser (stopping just before he crashed into it, thankfully), and grabbed the small, blanket-covered object that was sitting on top of it. “Buenas noches, Senor Chapi, we have guests!”

“Senor Chapi?!” Manny and Frida said in unison as Rodolfo lifted the blanket. They ran up to the cage to get a closer look. Sure enough, sitting inside the cage was a small, green bird that looked not only clean (a stark difference from the bird they knew) but also very young - almost like a chick!

“I got him for Navidad,” Rodolfo explained, “Isn’t he great? Come on, Senor Chapi, say hello! You can do it, boy! Say hello!” The bird blankly stared at his owner for a few moments before giving a small squawk. Rodolfo frowned a bit. “Papi said that he can learn how to say words, but I guess he is still learning. Or, maybe he is just feeling a bit shy right now.”

“Ah, don’t worry,” Manny told him, giving a small smile, “I’m sure he’ll talk eventually. …He may not say the coolest thing ever but, he’ll still talk.” 

Rodolfo smiled. “Yes, I know he’ll talk eventually. I just need to be patient, that’s all!” Senor Chapi squawked again, and the young hero stroked him with his finger a few times, cooing at him a bit. As he did this, Manny and Frida shared a glance. If they were going to try this plan, they needed to tell him now.

“Say, D- Rodolfo,” Manny started to say, “Fri- gah! _Guitarra_ and I, sorta have something we want to talk to you about.”

“Hm?” He put the cage back on top of his dresser, “About what?”

“Well, about being a superhero! I mean, that’s what you want to be, riiiight?” Manny had been hoping for a quick, definite answer. If he got that, then they could abandon their plan and focus on getting back home. But, as the seconds passed, and Rodolfo went from smiling to frowning and staring at the floor, it became very obvious that he wasn’t going to give the answer his future-son was hoping for.

“Well, I’d like to be a hero, but… I don’t think I’m very good at it,” Rodolfo confessed, “When I first started out, I think I was doing more harm than good.” He winced at the memory of all the buildings he had ran into and sidewalks he had accidentally destroyed because he hadn’t quite figured out how to brake his super speed. 

But while Rodolfo could only focus on his past, Manny knew very well of the future. “What, that’s crazy! You’re a great hero!”

“Or at least, you _will_ be,” Frida added, “Once we work out all the kinks.”

“Eh?” Rodolfo blinked. ‘We’?” 

“Yeah!” Manny nodded, “See, where we come from, there are plenty of great heroes, all of them macho and heroic and successful! We can teach you how to be just like them!”

“Really?” The young hero’s eyes widened slightly as he slowly started to smile. Macho, successful, heroic… That was his dream! If he could be all these things and make both himself and the city proud, well… He couldn’t even imagine how happy he would be!

“Yep!” Frida grinned, “And Man-uh, _Fred_ here can teach you how to fight!”

At that, Rodolfo’s fantasizing screeched to a halt. “Wait, fighting?”

“Well, yeah!” Manny told him, raising his fists in a mock fighting pose, “If you wanna beat all the bad guys and be a hero, then you gotta know how to fight!”

Unfortunately, his enthusiasm wasn’t shared. “I don’t know… Doesn’t fist-fighting seem like more of a villain thing to do? And… I was sorta thinking that I could be the first hero who doesn’t use fists to defeat his enemies. I could just use my speed to confuse and disable them. Or tire them out by constantly dodging their attacks. Or, maybe I could even be clever and get them to use their own attacks against them!”

Ah, yes. _Pantera Bando_. Unfortunately, it would take his father years to invent and master that form of fighting, and they just couldn’t wait that long. “It’s a good idea,” Manny told him, trying to let him down easy, “But, not every villain and monster out there is going to be as easy to confuse as that monster. So, you gotta at least know the basics of fighting if you want to even stand a chance.”

Rodolfo frowned, glancing away again. “I suppose…”

“Dude, don’t think of it as fist-fighting,” Frida told him, “Just, think of it as self defense!” Manny nodded in agreement. “Yeah, what she said! You’re not kicking people’s butt just because you want to, you’re doing it to defend the city!”

“Well… That does seem a bit more heroic,” Rodolfo admitted, smiling a bit.

“Exactly! Look…” Remembering his father’s own comforting gestures, Manny put a hand on the young hero’s shoulder, “I know it’s gonna be tough, and I know you’re not really used to fighting people-” That was definitely a huge understatement. Compared to the body he would have as an adult, Rodolfo practically looked like a twig with a head on it. If not for his boots, he wouldn’t have a chance at fighting anyone. “-But I know that if you just work hard and keep trying, you’ll be a great hero!”

“…” Rodolfo’s smile grew a bit, his eyes getting teary. No one, not even his father, had ever believed in him that much. “Really?”

“Yeah!” “Totally!”

“Well… Alright then.” Standing up a bit straighter, he tried to strike a ‘heroic’ pose. “Then, I shall learn how to fight! I will train hard and keep my morals strong in order to become a great hero! _This I swear!_ ” His new friends both cheered at that, and even if they were still sort of worried about ruining the future, they were both still ready to try their best to save it!

**TO BE CONTINUED!**


	3. Chapter 3

##  _**~The Glass Knot~** _

_A powerful and priceless artifact said to be from an Aztec God’s collection. With it, anyone has the power to go forwards and backwards through time. Simply turn this hourglass over in order to travel - clockwise if you wish to go forward, and counter-clockwise if you wish to go back._

_**WARNING:** Should the Glass Knot be broken, its powerful magic sand could unravel time itself. DO NOT BREAK IT._

“Huh, seems simple enough,” Manny smiled, “And hey, there’s no time limit or anything, so we can stay here for as long as we need to!”

“Yeahhh but, do you really want to stay in the past for too long?” Frida asked, “Especially when there’s no video games?”

“…Good point.” Plus, the longer they stayed, the more likely they would accidentally screw something else up. “We just need to train Dad long enough to boost his confidence and make everyone see that he’ll be a great hero. Eventually.” 

“Right!” Surely that couldn’t be too hard! …Probably. …Hopefully. 

Just then, the two time-travelers heard footsteps coming down the hall. Quickly, they stuffed the magical hourglass and the book - ‘Mystical Magical Artifacts Vol. 3 - Mirrors, Staffs and Hourglasses’ - back into Frida’s goggles. Once that was done, they stood up to greet Rodolfo, putting on an innocent smile.

“Alright,” he said as he walked into the room, looking down at himself one last time to make sure his clothes were in order before putting on his mask, “I am ready to begin my training!”

“Great!” Manny nodded, “Just the kind of positive attitude that I would expect from a future hero!”

Rodolfo beamed at that. “So, what’s my first lesson?”

Manny walked up to him, standing just a foot or so in front of him. “Your first lesson is… To hit me as hard as you can!”

The young hero blinked. “Eh?”

“We gotta test your strength, dude,” Frida told him, taking a seat on his bed, “That way we’ll know how hard we need to train you!”

“Yeah! Besides, the first move you need to learn for how to fight, is how to actually land a punch!” Manny added, “So go on, I can take it!” Sure, the Bronze Boots of Truth gave his father great strength, but he was also still a kid. Besides, Manny had been hit by worse. So, he braced himself, and waited for the punch.

“…” Wincing slightly, Rodolfo brought his fist back- …And lightly bumped Manny’s chest. Manny opened his eyes, giving the young hero a ‘Really?’ look. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, “It just, seems wrong to hit someone who isn’t even trying to defend themselves!”

Manny held back a sigh. “Okay, then just pretend that I’m fighting you.” He even got into a fighting pose to help with the allusion. “Okay! Give me your best shot, Pantera!”

Rodolfo nodded. He brought his fist back again, paused, and then-! …Lightly hit Manny on the cheek, just barely moving his head. 

“…Maybe this’ll be harder than we thought,” Frida commented. Senor Chapi squawked in agreement.

Manny scowled a bit. “Come on, Rodolfo! Don’t your bronze boots give you super strength or something?”

His future-father frowned, looking apologetic as his ears folded down. “That’s what Papi said, but… I cannot seem to tap into that strength. At least, I can’t tap into it very much.” He deflated slightly, obviously disappointed in himself. “Super speed is the only power that I have totally gotten from the boots so far… And the only thing I can do with that is simply catch up with the criminals and try to confuse them, or try to stop them with words.” And with how ruthless some of the villains of Miracle City were, that wasn’t a plan that would work all the time - if at all. 

“You could also be a good get-away partner!” A familiar voice told them, “With your speed, the police would never-”

 _“Papiiii!”_ Puma stepped out into view giving a sheepish grin. “Heh, sorry, I couldn’t resist. But it’s fine, it’s fine, go back to your training,” he told them, quickly leaving. Rodolfo just sighed, feeling worse now.

“…Okay, you know what I think you need?” Manny asked, putting a hand on his shoulder, “I think you need a little street experience!” 

“Street experience?” Rodolfo repeated curiously.

“Yeah! A little real-life action will get your heroic instincts flowing, and you’ll be fighting bad guys like a natural!” That was how it was supposed to work out for him in the original timeline, right? 

“But, I’ve never-” “Come on, Rodolfo, I know you can do it!” 

The young hero thought about it for a few moments, and then smiled. “Alright… If you say so.” 

()()()()()()()()()

“Okay, if you’ve got super speed, then you can totally run on walls!” Manny told him. But before he had to explain any further, Rodolfo grinned.

“I’ve done that before!”

“Really?!” Manny and Frida said in unison, smiling. Maybe this lesson would be easy.

“Yes! It was when I first tried on my boots! I, uh, sort of ran through a wall and fell out of the apartment… But, I was able to catch myself and run up the building, saving myself from an untimely death!”

“….Uhh, good job!” Manny said, giving him a thumbs up, “But this time, I think we’re going to try going from running on the ground to running up a building. Okay?”

“Alright… And, how do I do that?”

“Oh. You just, uh, run towards a building. And then you just put your feet on the wall and keep running!” he explained, trying to remember how he and Frida had done it when they ‘borrowed’ his father’s boots. Though, honestly, something like this was easier to do than to explain.

“Well, alright…” Rodolfo looked up at the tall building, took a few steps back, and ran towards it. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, he ended up just running into the wall. 

Both kids winced. “Uh, just try it again!” Manny told him with a forced smile. Rodolfo nodded, and backed up once more. The next time he tried it, he actually did manage to run up the wall of Casa del Macho slightly. But, because his body was just too unused to running at this angle, he ended up fumbling and falling back to Earth, landing hard on the pavement.

“Yeesh. Good thing I brought this,” Frida said, revealing the First Aid Kit behind her back. 

After a bit of a break, Manny decided that Rodolfo should work on something a bit easier. “The boots give you the ability to jump high too, right?” “Yes. …How did you-?” “Great! Then I want you to jump as high as you can!” He pointed to a nearby building. “Try to get up to the very top, okay?”

Determined not to fail at this lesson, Rodolfo nodded. “Okay!” Crouching down, he leapt as high as he could - and actually ended up jumping _over_ the building! And, once he stuck the landing, his two friends cheered.

“That was amazing!” “Do it again, do it again!” Rodolfo grinned in excitement, and quickly leapt up high once more. As he began jumping over whole buildings - sometimes even half of a block - Manny and Frida followed him.

“You’re doing great!” Manny told him, “Now, try to do a kick in the air!”

“Hit that billboard!” Frida shouted, pointing at a billboard that was advertising some old 70s band. 

“Um, o-okay!” Despite the rushing wind as he fell giving him a bit of resistance, he managed to get into a kicking position. “Like this?” he asked, looking back at his friends.

“Yeah! Just watch where you’re-” But it was too late. Instead of kicking the giant sign and bouncing off it, Rodolfo’s leg went right through it - causing his face and body to hit the billboard hard.

“…Going,” Manny finished before facepalming. Needless to say, the rest of the day was spent working on kicks on a much smaller level.

The next day, since Rodolfo was losing a bit of spirit, Frida decided to suggest something that she thought would definitely work. “Just work on what you know!”

“What I know?” Rodolfo repeated, looking a bit confused.

“Yeah! You know how to run, right?” “Of course, but-” “Then just use that for now! Practice your speed and go catch some bad guys using it!”

“…That’s, actually a good idea!” Manny smiled. Frida crossed her arms, looking proud of herself. She was definitely overdue for a good idea. “This’ll be a good chance for you to try and gain some control over your super speed, and even if you can’t fight bad guys yet, you can still catch them!”

“If you are sure…” Not wanting them to be left behind, Rodolfo allowed Manny and Frida to hang onto him. Thankfully, the small amount Pantera strength he did have made it easy for him to carry them, even if he didn’t really have any muscles. “So, where should I run to?” he asked.

Manny opened his mouth to suggest something, but was interrupted when a car - which was full of bags of money, and was going WAY past the speed limit - flew past them. “…” The kids shared a look, and smiled.

“White Pantera, AWAY!” Rodolfo shouted before he started chasing after the get-away car. It had gotten a bit of a head start, and every time it sharply turned a corner, Rodolfo stumbled a bit and had to regain both control and speed in order to catch up to it again. But, as the chase continued, it slowly got easier and easier for Rodolfo to not only keep up with the car, but to make those sharp turns, as well.

“You’re doing great!” Manny told him.

“Yeah!” Frida added, “Now let’s catch these jerks! And maybe get a bit of that cash as a reward for doing so!”

Even if he didn’t agree with that last part, the young hero grinned and increased his speed just a bit more. He also stretched out his hand - he was so close to grabbing the back bumper of the car. Unfortunately, since he was so focused on the chase, he didn’t even notice the pot-hole he was heading towards.

Now, a pot-hole to a car - even a car going fast - wasn’t too big of a deal. The most it would do was take out a tire, and that was just a maybe. But, to a running hero who could actually trip over it, well…

His foot hit the pot-hole, and like a rocket, the three kids were thrown up high into the air. Not only did they completely missed the car (which had then turned another corner, getting away), but they ended up landing right into a dumpster filled with melted ice cream. Not too surprising since it was beside an ice cream shop, one that was very popular with Rodolfo’s classmates.

As soon as they saw him stick his bruised and rotten ice cream-covered head out of the dumpster, the kids couldn’t help but laugh. “Guess the bad guys got away again, huh Pantera?” a girl dressed in black and green mocked, “Honestly, you’re so pathetic and dumb! Who would ever even think of wanting to go out with you! Certainly not me!” 

As the still laughing kids got up from their seats and walked away, taking their ice cream with them, the girl with the black and green jumper looked back at Rodolfo. Her smile was a bit softer now, and her eyes almost looked lovingly - though the illusion didn’t last long once she shouted “You stink!” at him before running away.

“Oh, Carmelita Aves,” Rodolfo said, frowning as Manny and Frida looked at him, “She can be so cruel… But-” he started to smile, looking a bit love sick, “Maybe with the right person in her life- OW!” 

Frida, looking annoyed, grabbed his ear and pulled him out of the dumpster. As for Manny, he could only stare, thinking about this Carmelita girl. Why did she seem so familiar…?

With that afternoon being a wash - and all three of them needing a shower - they decided to resume training the next day. By this point, Rodolfo was feeling pretty low. If he had failed all the other lessons, then what chance did he have with this one?

But Manny, on the other hand, wasn’t giving up! “The good thing about having super powers, is that you get to create your own power moves!” he told him as they stood on the large, field-sized roof, “They’re moves that combine all of your skills and abilities into one, fight-winning hit!”

“They sound quite exciting! …But-” The ears on Rodolfo’s Pantera mask folded down as he frowned. “I am not sure that I can-”

“Just trust me!” Manny told him, putting a hand on his shoulder, “All you’ve gotta do is run forward, jump up and kick with enough Pantera power to totally wipe out your opponent! You can call it - oh, I don’t know, the Pantera Power Punch-Kick?”

Rodolfo blinked. “That’s… A very unique name. And, you just thought of it on the spot?” 

“Er, yeah! I mean, i-it wasn’t that hard! Heh.”

“But then, why is it called a punch-kick if-?” “READY!” Both boys turned to look at Frida on the far, other side of the roof. Next to her was a crude drawing of the chili pepper monster they had fought a few days ago, made out of wood with some bricks behind it to help keep it standing.

“Okay!” Manny called back before turning back to Rodolfo, who was still looking a bit concerned. “Go ahead,” he told him, “Just try it!”

“But Fred, I… I don’t know if I can- I mean, what if I’m not skilled or powerful enough to-?”

“Come on, dude!” Manny smiled, “I know you can do it!”

“…” Rodolfo gave him a small smile and nodded, getting into a running position. After a couple moments of hesitation, he started to run towards the target, quickly gaining speed. Once he was about halfway across the roof, he leapt up several feet in the air, and tried to get into a kicking position as soon as possible. It was still sort of hard to do, especially when he was trying to remember everything else he was supposed to do at the same time, but he was doing it.

Manny watched, frowning a bit. There wasn’t a glow around his boots, so it wasn’t really a power move. But, at least it was still a kick. And, what was better, a kick that not only hit its target directly, but allowed Rodolfo to bounce off it instead of running into it. 

The wood the ‘monster’ was made of had been cracked and broken a bit, but it wasn’t completely destroyed. However, there were some other side effects of the kick… Once he had landed, Rodolfo heard the sound of breaking glass several times over. Shortly after that, the wooden target fell back, no longer having anything to keep it standing.

“Uh oh,” Frida mumbled, slowly understanding what had happened. And, once Manny ran over to join them, the three of them peered over the rooftop to check out the damages. Because of the vibrations from the punch-kick, Rodolfo had unintentionally sent several bricks flying into nearby windows (and one unlucky potted cactus). They could even hear people yelling and complaining about their now-broken windows from where they stood.

“Uhh, heh, I-I think that’s enough punch-kick training for today,” Manny said quickly.

“Yeah!” Frida nodded, backing away from the edge of the roof.

“But, shouldn’t we take responsibility for our-?” Rodolfo started to say, but Manny and Frida grabbed his arms and led him away from the edge before he could finish, hoping that no one had seen them.

()()()()()()()()()

It was fairly late in the evening, and back in Casa del Macho, Manny was still trying to help Rodolfo with his fighting skills. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a punching bag or dummies he could practice on, so he had to just punch and kick at the air. (”It’s probably the only thing he can defeat at this point,” Manny had heard Frida mumble.)

“Come on, faster! More ferocious!” Manny told him, taking one of his future-father’s arms and straightening it out a bit.

“I know, I know,” Rodolfo replied, a bit exasperated, “I am trying to remember.” Though, with each punch, he just felt more and more discouraged rather than invigorated. If he was having trouble with just the basics of superheroing, then how in the world was he ever going to become one?

“Maaaaybe you guys should take another break,” Frida suggested. She was certainly going to take a break, anyway. With a smile, she got out the small box of churros she had bought earlier. Unfortunately, as soon as she opened it, Senor Chapi woke up from his nap, catching the delicious cinnamon smell, and tried to get a bite for himself - easily squeezing through the bars of the cage and flying just slightly above Frida’s head. He squawked loudly in her ear. “Heyyy, get your own!”

Manny sighed, rubbing his head a bit. “I don’t know why you’re not getting this…” Fighting came so easily to Manny, and he would’ve thought that it would have come easily to someone as macho as his dad too. 

“…I am sorry for disappointing you…”

As soon as he heard that, Manny felt his frustration slip away a bit, almost instantly replaced with guilt. He looked back over at Rodolfo, and almost felt a sense of deja vu. His head was low, he was slouching slightly, his hands were behind his back - it was almost the exact stance Manny fell into whenever he was being scolded.

“…Hey, come on, it’s okay!” Manny told him after a moment, forcing a smile.

“No it’s not… You two are trying so hard to turn me into something great, and I just keep failing… But I really am trying!”

“I know you are…” Walking over to the wannabee hero, Manny put a hand on his shoulder, “Trust me, I know you are… Maybe, maybe we just need to try something else!”

“Like what?” Manny opened his mouth to answer, but quickly realized that he didn’t have an answer to give. “That’s what I thought…”

“…Well, don’t give up on yourself just yet, Rodolfo,” Manny told him, still determined as ever, “I know you have what it takes to be a great hero! We just have to bring it out somehow!” Taking his hand off his shoulder, he then started to pace. If he could just show his dad that he had some sort of talent, or had made some sort of progress, maybe that would be enough for him to keep trying! But what? What? WHAT-”

“Come on, get off!” “SQUAWK! SQUAWK!” “Shoo! Get back in your cage!” Of course, Senor Chapi was never the best listener, even as a young bird. He continued to fly around the bluenette’s head and squawk in her ears, and all Frida could do was try and protect her churros while swatting at the creature.

“Senor Chapi, stop that,” Rodolfo finally said, scolding him lightly, “You’re being rude to our guest.” 

“Ugh, if this is him being ‘rude’, then I’d hate to see what he’s like when he feels like acting like a jerk!” Having just about enough, Frida stopped caring about the churros themselves, and just threw the box as hard as she could at the green bird. Senor Chapi just barely managed to dodge it - causing the box to fly right towards Rodolfo.

It had happened so suddenly, Rodolfo couldn’t help but let out a yelp as he closed his eyes. But, instead of simply ducking down, he raised a leg and kicked the box away, effectively blocking the ‘attack’.

Both Manny and Frida gave a gasp. “Rodolfo… Do you realize what you just did?!”

The boy opened his eyes. “…I, kicked a box of churros?” 

“You defended yourself!” Manny grinned. He knew those fighting instincts would come out sooner or later. Maybe it was just a defense mechanism, but it was still something.

“Wait, I did?” “Yeah! Other than the whole cowering thing, it was great!” Frida told him. 

Rodolfo slowly smiled. “I, I did it?! I did it! HOORAY!”

“And, now that we know you _can_ do it-” Manny walked over to his box of action figures and took a couple of them out, “Let’s try to hone those skills!”

For the next hour or so, numerous objects were hurled at Rodolfo. Action figures, his soccer ball, shoes, pretty much anything they could find. With each attack, Rodolfo braced himself, and either kicked or punched it away. For the objects that he couldn’t block, he was able to duck and avoid them with great ease and agility. And for every successful round, Manny and Frida cheered.

Sure, it wasn’t like he was sparring somebody or using a power move, but at least he was showing some sort of skill. Eventually though, fatigue started to set in, and the trio of children decided it was time to call it a night. However, just because they were tired, didn’t mean they could easily sleep…

_*creak* … *creak* … *creak* …_

“Mm…” Opening his eyes slightly, Manny glanced around a bit. He could see Frida still sleeping on the floor next to him, mumbling about goldfish and exploding guitars. Turning over, he glanced up to look at his father’s bed, but didn’t see anything there. “Huh…?”

Sitting up, he quickly noticed a small figure standing out on the balcony. Frowning a bit, he got out from under his blanket, and walked outside. “…Rodolfo?”

“O-Oh, buena noches, Fred,” Rodolfo greeted, “…Did I wake you?”

“No,” Manny lied, “I just saw that you were out here. …Is, everything okay?”

Rodolfo didn’t answer right away. “I, I guess I am just still a bit worried…”

“About what? Don’t you remember what you did today?”

“Yes… But, will it be enough? What, what if blocking, dodging and running-” “And kicking bricks!” his friend added, hoping to lighten the situation a bit. Rodolfo didn’t appreciate the reminder. “What if those really are the only things I can do?” He hung his head lower. “And, even those things I can’t do perfectly…” 

“…Well, then you’ll just keep practicing and use those things to help you fight crime,” Manny told him, still trying to encourage him.

“I guess so…” 

A few minutes of silence passed between the two thirteen year olds. As chaotic and dangerous as Miracle City could be, it was actually sort of peaceful at night. No robberies were occuring, there were only a couple cars out on the streets below, and they could actually see a few small stars up in the sky. All of this lifted their spirits, just a little. 

The silence finally broke when Rodolfo started to speak again. “I know there is honor in trying, but… when you fail, even if you still want to reach your goal, it just makes trying again that much harder.”

“…Yeah, I get what you mean,” Manny nodded. He could definitely understand that.

“But…I guess, even if I do fail at being a hero, I could always just get a normal, respectable job somewhere.” Though, could he really live with just being ordinary? “Or, maybe I could finally give into Papi’s suggestions and become his partner-in-crime.”

Manny gaped at him, not being able to believe it. “What?!” He was barely able to keep his voice down. “But, but you’re not evil! You can’t even STAND doing anything bad!”

Rodolfo gave a small smile. “I know… Even just thinking about it makes me feel ill, so I don’t think I could ever actually become a supervillain.” His future-son just barely managed to hold back a sigh of relief (and was actually a bit surprised at how relieved he was). “Though, the idea of making him happy does seem nice.”

It was at that moment that Manny decided to say something that had been on his mind ever since he first saw his young grandpapi. “I’m sorta surprised that he would try to push you to be a villain… Does he do that all the time?”

Rodolfo shook his head. “Just every once in a while, and he usually just says that he’s joking. …But, it used to be a lot more often. I think he was annoyed with how good I was, maybe even angry about it. But then…” He glanced up at the dark sky. “But then, I think he started to remember how things were with his own father, and how they never made up before he passed away. He must have decided he didn’t want the same thing to happen to me and him.” He smiled a bit at that.

“Maybe I don’t approve of all of the things my father does, but I still love him. And… I know he’s still a bit disappointed that I’m not as evil as he is, but he also respects who I am and what I want to be, and accepts it. And, that’s enough.”

“Yeah…” Manny clenched his fists slightly. “Sometimes, that’s all you need. To know that your dad will still accept you, no matter who you choose to be.” Or what mistakes you make.

“So, you can sort of relate?” Rodolfo asked, glancing over at him.

Manny nodded. “I sorta, get into trouble a lot,” he admitted, “And most of the time, I guess I deserve to be punished for it. But other times, it just feels like he’s picking on me just for making a mistake, or for doing something that may not technically be good but is still fun, or… for just not being as perfect as he always seems to be.” Though, given all that he had seen, that idea of ‘perfect’ was starting to be chipped away. 

There was a small pause. “…Is your father a superhero?”

Manny flinched, stumbling back a bit. “W-What?! No way, of course not! Heh, come on, dude! Where would you ever get a crazy idea like that?!”

Rodolfo blinked. “Well, it just sort of seemed like you could relate, and since he is so focused on you being good, then-”

“Yeah, well, he’s not. He just has some boring office job.” Technically not a lie, since his father did have a day job at an office. 

“Oh. …Well, even so, I think that even if you do make mistakes, it seems like your father will still care about you and forgive you. And, even if it doesn’t seem like it at times, if he’s willing to forgive you and still care about you despite your faults, then he must accept the way you are as well, right?”

“…Yeah.” Manny smiled a bit. “I guess so. …Thanks, D- Rodolfo.”

Rodolfo smiled. “You are very welcome, amigo. And, thank you as well. You did help me feel a bit better.” Even if he didn’t believe in himself much, it helped to have someone else believe in him without ever faltering. He then gave a small yawn. “Well… Maybe we should try to get back to sleep, yes? We have more work to do in the morning, after all.” Manny nodded, and they walked back inside together, blissfully unaware of the danger lurking just across the city…

“Yessss… _Yessss…_ ” The boy scientist tossed a couple more handfuls of spice into the pot, causing it to bubble even more - the sound of it almost sounding like a growl.

Dr. Chipotle grinned, his creation slowly coming to life. Just one more ingredient now… “Pepper Monster! Bring me the last ingredient!”

The monster nodded, quickly grabbing the metal briefcase next to him and taking it over to his creator. Opening it up, he had to turn his head a bit just to shield his eyes from the bright, green glow of the radioactive rod.

Dr. Chipotle’s robot eye zoomed in on it, scanning it briefly. Yes, this was indeed grade-A plutonium. “Throw it in the pot!” he commanded. The monster did as he was told, and the concoction went from simply bubbling to expanding - almost growing! As the mixture slowly rose, two onions and a pepper were moved to the top of it, almost making it look like it had eyes and a nose.

The boy-villain cackled and snorted with evil glee. “Finally! It is _complete!_ ” He rubbed his flesh and metal hands together. “Sleep while you can, Miracle City… For tomorrow, you will be _MIIIINE!_ ”

 _“…Eh, who’s selling limes?”_  

Dr. Chipotle deflated. “Father! How many times do I have to tell you not to butt in when I’m making my evil speeches?!” he shouted back at him, “You always ruin the effect of it!”

_“Hey, don’t you give me lip, young man! You know I can’t hear very well in this ear! …Or in this ear.”_

The boy just rolled his eyes, ignoring his father. Nothing was going to ruin his victory, not even weak, little Pantera…

**TO BE CONCLUDED!**


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as sunlight hit the room, the three children started to stir. Rodolfo got up first, stretching a bit and pulling the blanket off of Senor Chapi’s cage so he could wake up too. As for Manny and Frida, they were covering their faces with their blankets or pillows, trying to get a few more minutes of precious sleep. 

Even though, they forced themselves to get up, yawning a bit. “So, what is the training plan for today?” Rodolfo asked, still trying to be optimistic.

“Well-” “Ughhh…” Frida rubbed her eyes, “Can we please get some breakfast first before talking about training again?”

At that moment, Manny felt his stomach growl. “Uh, yeah, I’m with Guitarra on this one. Let’s get something to eat.” So, they headed down the hall, past the living room and into the kitchen. “Hey, Senor Rivera,” Manny called out, looking around for his young grandfather, “What’s for breakfast?”

“Papi?” Rodolfo frowned, “Hmm… Perhaps he had an early morning heist he had to get to…”

“Eh, we can make breakfast ourselves,” Frida told them, having already climbed on the counter and was planning to get herself a box of cereal. “You guys still have some milk left, right?” 

“Yes, but-” Just then, the entire building shook. The kids yelped with surprise and fear, and Frida had been so caught off guard (and off balance) by it, that she fell right off the counter. Luckily, Manny and Rodolfo were there to catch her.

After a few moments, the shaking stopped - though they could all hear some faint screaming in the distance. “What the heck was that?!” Manny asked, “An earthquake?”

“Maybe the Miracle City volcano went off again,” Rodolfo suggested, though he couldn’t remember a time where the volcano had shaken the city _that_ much!

Rapid footsteps raced to the kitchen, and Puma stood in doorway, looking a bit frightened as well as surprised. “Ah, there you kids are! But what are you still doing here?! You all need to head down to the ground floor now!”

“Papi, what’s going on?” “What was all that shaking?”

“Giant monster attack! One of the biggest that I’ve ever seen!” Puma exclaimed, “I see it with mi own eyes this morning while I steal my morning coffee!”

Rodolfo gave his father a bit of a stern look. “Papi, we have coffee mix at home already.”

His father just shrugged. “Eh, sometimes I don’t like to wait for coffee to boil, you know? Anyway, unless you three want to stay and be destroyed by a monster, I’d say you get out of here as soon as you can!”

“But what about you?” Frida asked.

Puma chuckled a bit. “Oh, don’t worry,” he told her, tipping his sombrero slightly, “I can take care of myself. …And besides, if the police are busy with a giant monster, they probably don’t notice a few robberies here and there.” And with that, he activated the helicopter mode on his sombrero, and flew out the closest window. “Don’t get squished!” he told them over his shoulder.

Rodolfo shook his head at his father slightly, but quickly got over his disapproval. After all, they had bigger problems to deal with, because at that moment, the building shook again.

“W-Well, what are we waiting for?!” Frida told them, just barely managing to stay standing, “Let’s get out of here!”

“Right!” the boys said in unison. As soon as the shaking settled a bit, they raced out of the penthouse apartment and down the several flights of stairs as fast as they could, eventually reaching the ground floor. Once they were outside, and could actually see the monster towering over the city just a couple blocks away from where they were, they could only gape at it.

Honestly, Manny and Frida had been expecting something a little more usual, like some sort of tentacle monster or rock monster or something similar. But this monster… Well, they could definitely say that they hadn’t seen this one coming. 

The monster’s body was a redish-brown color, thick and bumpy and jiggling slightly as it moved. If they really looked at it, they could make out some of the beans and chunks of meat in its skin, as well as the various pieces of peppers and onions. Speaking of which, two big onions and a giant, thin red pepper sat on its face, giving it the impression of eyes and a nose. Lifting up its huge, dripping arms, the monster let out a giant roar that broke nearly all of the windows near it. More people screamed, running for their lives as they tried not to get hit with the drops that fell from the monster.

“It’s a… giant chili monster!” Rodolfo exclaimed.

“But where did it even come from?!” Manny asked. Rodolfo didn’t know, but they were all about to get their answer. 

The monster started moving forward once more, and as it reached Casa del Macho, it lowered its head slightly - making it easier to see the small cauldron on his head. (On a monster that size, it almost looked like a bowler hat.) Sitting on top of the cauldron was it’s creator - a small, brown haired boy with a mechanical arm, robotic eye, and a lab coat - laughing maniacally. 

“Yes! _Yesss!_ This is EXACTLY how I pictured it would be!” he said gleefully, “No one will be safe from…” He paused for dramatic effect. “CHILI CON CARNAGE! AHHHAHAHAHAAA!”

“…Tc’ch, chili con carnage? Laaame.”

The young villain blinked. “Who dares?!” Looking down, he could see three small figures. As his monster started to crouch down - it’s goopy body expanding like a slug and covering the entire street with chili, blocking any cars that were trying to escape - he started to make out the figures. A boy with a yellow shirt and curly black hair, a sort of cute girl with blue hair and red goggles, and- …Dr. Chipotle slowly grinned. _Perfect._

“Wait a minute…” Manny’s eyes widened. “It can’t be!” After all, Dr. Chipotle Jr. was supposed to be from his time, not his dad’s. But wait, Chipotle’s dad would probably be a kid in this time period. And as the young villain got closer, Manny could see that he had a bigger chin and nose than his future son, plus his mechanical arm looked like it was made from more archaic tech than the one he would have in the future. There was no doubt about it now. “It’s Dr. Chip’n’dip Sr.!”

“YES!” Dr. Chipotle yelled, throwing his arms up in the air, “Dr- Wait, what did you call me? …And what is with the ‘senior’? I know I may be a little mature for my age, but I don’t look old!” 

“Chipotle…” Rodolfo stepped forward, “Amigo, why are you doing this?! Why would you create a monster to destroy the city?!”

“Uh, because I’m EVIL!” And clearly proud of it, as he let out another maniacal laugh. “Oh, and I could not have done it without you, Rivera. So thank you sooo much for your help!”

“WHAT?!” Manny and Frida exclaimed in unison, looking at Rodolfo - who looked just as shocked as they were.

“Mmm, yessss~ It was quite the devious trick I pulled on you, Rivera - and cunning too! Truly only a genius such as me would be able to pull it off…”

_The warning bell had rang, and Rodolfo was at his locker getting his books for class. “Excuse me, amigo?”  
_

_He turned around and smiled. “Ah, buenos dias, Chipotle!”_

_“Buenos dias,” the boy nodded, giving an innocent smile, “Say, were you able to borrow that plutonium from your father?”  
_

_“Yes, I was! Though, he said that I could only have one rod of it.” “Oh, that is fine!” Rodolfo turned back to his locker, grabbing the lead-encased briefcase before turning back to the boy-scientist. “So… Why did you need this plutonium again?”  
_

_Chipotle’s smile faltered a bit. “Oh, umm… Science.”_

_“…Ah, okay then.” He handed him the suitcase.  
_

_“Wow, thank you sooooo much, Rivera!” “You’re very welcome, amigo!”_

“…” Manny and Frida both gave Rodolfo a ‘really?’ look. “What?” he tried to say in his defense, “It seemed alright at the time! When has science ever been used for evil?”

“FOOLS!” The chili monster rose to its full height once more. “I shall destroy this city, and rule over the rubble with an iron fist!”

“…Uhhh, why would you want to rule over rubble?” Manny asked, “I mean, you’re basically just ruling over a bunch of rocks and trash, so-”

“BE QUIET!” The Chili Con Carnage raised its fist up high before hurling it down towards the base of Casa del Macho. The kids screamed and leapt out of the way, just barely avoiding the monster’s fist. The large apartment building shook and crumbled slightly, yet still managed to stay standing for the moment - though, they weren’t expecting it to stay that way.

“We have to get out of here!” Rodolfo shouted, getting back on his feet, “Quickly! Follow me!” Not really having any other choice, Manny and Frida followed him to a nearby alleyway and took shelter behind a dumpster. 

The young hero whimpered. “This is awful! The city will be destroyed and, and it’s all my fault…”

“…Maybe so, but you can still fix this!” Manny told him. Both Rodolfo and Frida gave him a look of disbelief at that. “Come on, Pantera! You can totally do this!”

“I have never fought a monster before!” he shouted, his voice cracking slightly, “At least, not one THAT big! I-I, I wouldn’t even know HOW to-? W-What would I even-?!” Rodolfo held himself, looking legitimately scared about the idea.

“I know it’s scary but, but heroes do scary things all the time!” Manny told him, putting his hands on his shoulders, “You’re the only one who can do this!” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Frida mouthing something and pointing at her waist, but Manny shook his head. He couldn’t use his El Tigre powers and risk messing up history even more. Although, as he heard the monster’s roar combined with the sound of destruction… Well, it was certain tempting. But no, this was his dad’s fight!

Rodolfo looked down at the ground, clenching his fists. “You’re… You’re right! I, I must at least try! If I am to be a true hero, then I must fight despite my fears!”

“Yeah!” Manny grinned.

“And if I perish during the fight, then so be it!”

“…Let’s try not to think about that.” He gave him a small shove towards the front of the alley. “Just remember your training, Pantera!” The boy nodded, kicking off his loafers and revealing his powerful boots.

“Psst, Manny!” Frida whispered to him, still not looking completely convinced, “Do you really think your dad can do this?”

“He has to,” Manny answered simply.

Taking out his homemade mask, Rodolfo slipped it on under his glasses, and stepped out into the light. Despite the monster not facing him - and therefore, not even noticing him and being too busy happily destroying things - the Miracle City citizens who were still in the streets or hiding in their homes noticed him right away. 

“What’s that kid doing?” “Isn’t that Puma’s boy?” “What’s his name, uhh, Pantera or something.” “Does he have a death wish?!” “Better him than us.”

Rodolfo heard all of these comments, but ignored them. Taking a deep breath, he shouted with all his might. “CHIPOTLE!”

The boy scientist blinked, and ordered his monster to turn around. “Ahh, Rivera. So you _are_ deciding to fight after all, huh?”

“Yes!” Rodolfo said, looking determined as he put his hands on his hips. He then pointed at Dr. Chipotle. “Your rampage stops here! I cannot allow to destroy the place I call home! And so, I will stop you, no matter what it takes!” He then got into a defensive pose. “And, just so you know, my name… is WHIIITE PANTER-!”

Before he could finish his battle cry, the chili monster swung his arm and slapped the boy away. The citizens gasped and cringed. Manny and Frida both couldn’t help but wince as Rodolfo skipped along the hard ground several times before finally landing hard enough to leave a dent in the road. “…Well, I hate to say I told you so,” Frida started to say, but stopped when she noticed the glare Manny was giving her.

Chipotle laughed victoriously. “Just as I thought: Too easy!” As he continued to laugh, the time-traveling duo ran over to the injured hero. The injuries weren’t too bad, thankfully - a few bruises and scraped, and his glasses had been knocked off and shattered, but no broken bones as far as they could tell. Unfortunately, the boy was still a bit dazed. 

“Aww, come on Dad- er, R-Rodolfo! Get up, come on!” Rodolfo groaned, his eyes still closed. 

“If he is smart, he should just stay down!” they heard Chipotle say, still cackling a bit, “Then again, if he is as smart as he is strong…”

“…” Manny clenched his teeth in anger, turning around to glare at the young villain. “You, you COWARD! How about you get down from that dumb monster and fight like a man?!”

The Chili Con Carnage whimpered a bit at the ‘dumb’ comment, but Chipotle glared back at Manny. “SWINE! You dare say that I am the coward?!”

“Yeah, I do!” Manny retorted before sticking his tongue out at Chipotle.

The boy-scientist was boiling now. “You will PAY for that!” He then laughed slightly. “You think _I_ am the weak one here…?” The monster started to move towards them, and Manny’s anger started to falter a bit, quickly being replaced by fear. “I’d say the weak one here is YOU!”

With that, the Chili Con Carnage roared and tried to grab Manny. With a yelp, he jumped out of the way, and tried to run. Unfortunately, the monster’s arm was faster than he thought it would be, and after a couple near-misses, it managed to stop Manny in his tracks. It blocked his path, and then slowly closed his hand around the boy, lifting him up.

“Manny!” Frida screamed. Rodolfo stirred a bit.

Of course, Manny tried to struggle in the monster’s grasp, but the chili was just too hot and thick to fight against. He couldn’t even reach his El Tigre belt even if he wanted to! And as the fist squeezed him tighter and tighter, he couldn’t help but let out a scream.

“W-Wha…?” Rodolfo slowly started to open his eyes. Everything was mildly blurry since he didn’t have his glasses, but with a bit of squinting, he could see Manny struggling and screaming in the chili monster’s grasp. 

The boy gasped, sitting up. “No!” 

“Yes! _Yesss!_ Who is the weak one now?!” Chiptole asked his prisoner, not even noticing Rodolfo, “Just face facts! No hero can stop me! NO ONE!”

“…” Rodolfo slowly clenched his fists, shaking with fury and determination. As he stood up, ignoring his pain, Frida blinked. “Whoa…” she said quietly. Suddenly, he seemed a lot more like the adult White Pantera.

“Put. Him. DOWN!”

“Eh?” Chipotle looked down, just in time to see Rodolfo running at the Chili Con Carne - though, at the speed he was going, he looked more like a white blur. Just before he reached the monster, he leapt up and flew through it, creating a giant hole in its center.

The monster roared, and Manny managed to smile. Yes! A direct hit! As for Rodolfo, he landed safely on the other side and being able to stop his speed without too much effort. And, as he looked up at the damage he did, he couldn’t help but smile a bit, as well. 

“Grrr, GET HIM!” Not being need to be told twice, the chili monster turned slightly and tried to grab Rodolfo, but the young hero easily leapt out of the way. But, instead of landing back on the ground, he ended up landing right on the monster!

‘Use what you know,’ he told himself, remembering his lessons. The chili that made up the monster’s body and skin was thick. Thick enough to stick to and, more importantly, thick enough to run on. So, before it could even notice that he was on it, Rodolfo started running. It wasn’t very fast at first, but little by little, he started to pick up speed. Faster and faster, around and around the beast as the heat from his boots started to burn its body.

The Chili Con Carnage cried out in pain once more. It could feel the lower half of his body start to destabilize and fall apart. “Come on, White Pantera!” Manny cheered, “Keep going! You’re doing great!”

“BE QUIET! Come on you stupid thing, catch him already!” The monster growled, and moved its dripping, free hand towards its waist. But, with the damage already done, Rodolfo leapt off its body before it could squish him. Unfortunately, that didn’t mean it wasn’t going to continue trying. In fact, now that it had a clear shot at the boy hero, it was certainly going to try. Raising its fist, it took aim and threw it down.

Rodolfo had the urge to run back, but fought against it. ‘Stand your ground… Defend yourself!’ He could feel the boots’ power, all the abilities and honor they gave him. He needed to not only use them, but trust them. He needed to trust _himself._  

So with that, he closed his eyes, brought his fist back, and met the monster’s punch with his own. There was a small explosion of chili, and he heard several people gasp - though, just barely, since the monster was also screeching. Opening his eyes, Rodolfo could see why. 

A decent chunk of its fist had been taken out, the chili now splattered all over the ground. Rodolfo blinked in honest disbelief before smiling, throwing another punch. One after the other, with each hit landing and taking another chunk of chili out of its arm. Even as the monster tried to reform itself or hit Rodolfo back, it was just no match for his Pantera Powers. 

“No no NOOOOOO!” Chipotle threw his fists down on the cauldron, pounding it as he threw a tantrum, “This wasn’t how it was supposed to go! It’s not fair! Graaaah, stop destroying my monster! Stop it!” 

Manny chuckled. “Guess we were right, your Chili Con Carnage is totally lame!” Chipotle screeched in frustration, just as Rodolfo took out the last of his monster’s arm.

Landing on the ground, anyone close by could see that he was panting a bit, but he was still in better shape than his foe. “So, Chipotle: Do you surrender?”

Chipotle stared at the young hero for a moment, and then glared at him. “NEVERRRRRRR!” With that, he pulled a vile of green liquid out of his lab coat and poured it onto the monster. It shook as the meat and beans that made of its body started to churn. Within just a few seconds, the hole in its chest was repaired, the two halves of its body were reconnected, and it actually grew a whole new arm!

Rodolfo frowned, worry creeping back onto his face. All the damage he had done… Now it was like it had never happened! “Aww, do you want to cry now, Pantera?” Chipotle taunted, “Because I have something that could help! RELEASE THE ONIONS AND SPICY PEPPERRRS!”

The Chili Con Carnage pointed a finger at Rodolfo, and various vegetables were shot out of it. “Don’t let any of those hit you in the eye!” Frida shouted, trying to help.

Rodolfo did his best to dodge the incoming vegetables, his muscles quickly falling into the familiar moves, and soon the young hero was blocking and hitting away vegetables with ease. Unfortunately, because of how quickly the projectiles were coming, he couldn’t stop doing this and try a different attack. In other words, Chipotle had cornered him. 

Seeing this, Manny decided to provide a little distraction. “Hey, Chipmunko!”

“The name, is CHIPOTLE!” the boy scientist told him, “And what do you want?!”

“I was just thinking: For a scientist, you aren’t very smart. I mean, don’t you know that chili’s supposed to be eaten, and not turned into some lame monster?” And with that, he managed to tilt his head down enough to lick the monster’s hand.

The Chili Con Carnage paused its veggie projectiles and grimaced, making a noise that sounded a lot like an “Ewww”. “Hey! HEY! Quit licking my monster!” Chipotle shouted at Manny, but the boy just kept licking, and even tried taking a few bites of it (though, he almost instantly spat them out. Radiation did _not_ make a good chili ingredient). “Oooooh that does it! You just ate your last chili hand! Squish him! SQUISH HIMMMM!” 

Manny felt the fist around to tighten around him even more, causing his head to go up and a strangled cry to escape his throat.

“No!” Rodolfo cried out. He couldn’t let his friend die! But what could he do? What- An idea suddenly came to his mind. Just four small words, and yet they still seemed almost impossible to him. One wrong move, and it would be a disaster. But, it was the only way he could even hope to defeat the Chili Con Carnage!

_“Come on, dude! I know you can do it!”_

 “…Yes… I _can_ do this!” With that, he turned on his heel and ran down the street. 

Noticing this, Chipotle started to laugh. “I knew he would just run away eventually!” Manny, whose vision was slowly started to fade, weakly turned his head to look.

“D-Dad…”

As soon as he reached the end of the street, Rodolfo made a U-Turn and started running back towards them, his speed increasing more and more with each passing second. “I am not running, Chipotle! And I never will!” With that, he leapt into the air, hurtling towards the monster like a comet. He stuck out his leg, holding it up high as the boot on his foot began producing a golden aura.

“PANTERA POWER _PUNCH-KICK!_ ” 

With that, he kicked the monster directly, staying in the air as his foot touched the beast. For a moment, it looked like nothing had happened. But, as the vibrations from the mighty kicked moved through the monster’s body, it began to shake and fall apart slightly before finally exploding. Chili was splattered all over the city, but that didn’t matter - the Chili con Carnage had been defeated! 

During the explosion, both Chipotle and Manny had been shot up into the air. Hoping it would protect him from the hard landing, Chipotle grabbed his cauldron and crawled into it as it began to fall. As for his free-falling prisoner, Rodolfo had leapt up and caught Manny before he could even let out a scream, with both of them landing safely on the ground.

“That was AMAZING!” Manny told him, “You did it, Pantera!”

“I always knew you could,” Frida added with a smile as she walked over to them.

“Yes, I… I did it! I really did it!” Rodolfo said, quickly becoming overjoyed. “I DEFEATED A MONSTER! … _Phew!_ ” With that, he fell backwards, landing on his behind.

“Whoa?” “You okay, man?”

“Heh, y-yes,” Rodolfo replied, giving a tired smile, “Ah, perhaps I am still getting used to fighting and using my powers. But, I am still victorious!”

His friends laughed a bit. “You’ve got that right,” Manny told him as he helped him back to his feet. Just then, a groan made them all look to the cauldron that was sitting in the middle of the road just a few feet away. They had been so busy focusing on their victory that they’d barely even heard the crash.

Walking over to it, Rodolfo easily picked up the large pot to tip it over. Unsurprisingly, Chipotle fell out, looking a bit dazed. “Ughhh… That plan did not work as well as I thought it would…” Blinking, he looked up and saw the young hero scowling at him. Yelping, Chipotle put his hands up, shielding his face and bracing himself. He felt Pantera grab the scruff of his lab coat, and- helped him to his feet. “Huh?”

“Heroes do not harm those who can’t defend themselves,” Rodolfo said simply, “Even villains. However…” He looked up at the police cars that were driving towards them. “There is something I _will_ do to you, Chipotle.” Once the officers stepped out of the car, Rodolfo led the guilty villain to them.

“Grrr, maybe you have won this time, Pantera, but I won’t forget this!” he told him as he got into the police car, his arms now cuffed behind his back, “I will destroy you one day! I WI-” The officer shut the door, cutting his promise off. Rodolfo didn’t look too worried though. Whatever his new nemesis had planned, he would be ready for it. 

And, it seemed like everyone else thought so too. “White Pantera saved the day!” “He really is a hero!” “He’s _our_ hero!” The crowd began chanting his name, and Rodolfo’s smile grew as he clasped his hands in joy.

Manny gave him a soft smile. “Yeah, the praise you get from saving the day is pretty great.”

“Yes… But-” He turned to look at him, “The personal joy and pride you get from succeeding is even greater.” And honestly, Manny had to agree with that.

Not wanting to ruin the good mood by saying good bye, Manny and Frida ended up staying in the past for a bit longer to help Rodolfo celebrate his first victory, using the make-your-own-ice-cream machine that Puma had stolen (though they tried to ignore that last part). The afternoon was full of laughs, cheers and recounting the amazing story, making for a very fun time. But eventually, they had to leave. After all, the future was waiting.

“I really can’t thank you two enough,” Rodolfo told them, “If it weren’t for your help, I would’ve never-”

“Aw, yeah you would!” Manny told him, “Trust me. But, even so, we’re glad we could help.”

“Not like we really had a choice, but - yeah! It was fun,” Frida added.

The young hero chuckled a bit. “Heh… I will miss you two. But, perhaps if you ever visit Miracle City again, we can spend some more time together.”

“Heh, yeah,” Manny nodded, “Maybe someday. But until then, just remember to keep trying and stuff, even when things get tough, okay? Because… You’ve got the heart of a hero, Pantera. And that’s enough to not only make you a hero, but a hero unlike any other. To do things that no one else can do, and try things that no other hero would even think of. To be a great hero that’s worth remembering.”

Rodolfo smiled at him, looking a bit teary eyed. “Gracias, amigo. I will make sure to remember that.” With that, the two hugged. It wasn’t an awkward hug, not even in the slightest, but even so… “Huh…”

“Hm? What?” “Oh, it is nothing. It’s just… When I hug you, it feels like I am hugging more than a friend. It almost feels like, like I am hugging a brother, or cousin, or something…”

“O-Oh, really?” Manny quickly let go of him, “Well, uh, I’m sure that just means that we’re just really great friends! Heh.”

Rodolfo blinked, then smiled. “Yes, I suppose so.” 

So, the three of them finished off their goodbyes. “See you later,” Manny told him as he and Frida walked down the hall while Rodolfo was heading back inside his apartment. But, just before he shut the door, Manny added a “Be good!” The young hero opened the door again, and gave them a wave. “Don’t worry, I will,” he promised before shutting the door once more.

“Well, looks like we saved the future,” Frida said proudly, “And, we pretty much got a mini vacation. All in all, not a bad time at all.”

“Yeah. But speaking of time, we should probably get back.” “Oh! Right, yeah!” Taking off her goggles, Frida handed him the hourglass. “I’m pretty sure it’s four turns clockwise!”

“Right! …Uhhh, which way’s clockwise again?”

“Um… Right, I think? 90% sure.” Manny gave her a look. “Hey, dude, we’ve got a time machine! If we don’t get to the right place, we just have to keep trying!”

“Good point.” So, Manny turned the hourglass four times to the right. The mystical object began to glow, and Frida put her hand to it as they both started to feel the sensation of time travel once more. Closing their eyes, they held on, and hoped to at least land in a time period with video games.

()()()()()()()()

“…Hey… Hey…! Manny!”

“Huh? Wha?” Manny opened his eyes, blinking a bit. Looking up, he saw his grandpapi staring at him, wearing a ‘San Angel Witches Reunion Tour’ shirt and not looking very happy. 

“What are you kids doing here? You know you aren’t allowed to-”

“GRANDPAPI!” Quickly getting to his feet, Manny hugged him, surprising the old villain slightly. As he hugged him, he looked around slightly, and didn’t see any major changes. “Everything is still the same!”

Frida joined the hug. “And you’re still old!” 

Puma pouted a bit. “Come on, I’m not that old!” 

Letting go of him, Manny quickly grabbed the hourglass and put it back on its pedestal. “Heh, sorry Grandpapi. We’re just really glad to be home.”

Quickly figuring out what had happened, Puma nodded. “Well, I am glad you two are safe too. And at least now I know that it works. Just don’t be using it again without me, okay?”

“Okay.” A memory returned to Manny’s mind, and he frowned a bit. “…Hey, Grandpapi? Do you know if Dad’s still up?”

“Mm? I don’t know - though I saw that the lights in the living room are still on, so he probably is.” Thanking him, the two kids walked out of his bedroom and down the dark hallway, towards the living room. Manny stopped just before it, but after Frida gave him an encouraging nod and smile, he stepped into the light and walked through the doorway. 

He could see his dad now in his red robe, reading one of his books. For a moment, he wasn’t sure if he should even bother him, but before he could even try to walk away- “Yes, mijo?”

“…” Even if his father wasn’t looking at him, Manny still glanced at the floor. “I… I just wanted to say sorry for the things I said before. …It, it wasn’t right. You, you have your own struggles and stuff. Just because they aren’t the same as mine doesn’t mean they don’t exist or matter. And, I know you just want me to do my best. …So, yeah, I’m sorry…” When he didn’t any reply, Manny started to walk back towards the hallway. But once again, he was stopped by his father’s voice.

“Manny… Come over here, please.” There wasn’t even a hint of sternness in his voice. In fact, it almost sounded apologetic. So, Manny walked over to him.

Rodolfo closed up his book, and gave his full attention to his son. “Your apology is appreciated. But, you are not the only one who has to make one.”

“Dad…”

“It’s true, I do want you to do your best. But, perhaps sometimes I can be a little harsh,” he admitted.

“But, sometimes I deserve it…” Manny argued, “It’s like, I know it’s bad but, sometimes I can’t help it. And other times, maybe it isn’t the best way, but it still seems like a good way to save the day.”

“Right,” Rodolfo nodded, “I can admit that I can’t relate to that feeling, but I should still try to understand. …I know that you are not me, mijo. And, sometimes, I need to do a better job of accepting that.” 

Manny smiled a bit at that. “Heh, guess we both have things we need to work on, huh?”

His father gave him a small smile in return. “I suppose so. …I know how hard it can be growing up with powers - learning to control them and figuring what you want to do with them-” Manny nodded. Not only had he felt that, but he had seen it first hand. Honestly, it was sort of comforting to know that his dad had shared some of his struggles. “But, I need to remember that you won’t always make the same choices as me, and… that is alright.”

“And I’ll still try to do the right thing,” Manny told him, “And, try to make you proud.”

“…I am already proud.” Crouching down, Rodolfo picked up his son and put him on his lap. Manny didn’t mind though - after nearly destroying his future, he didn’t mind the comforting closeness. 

“…I know that you have the heart of a true hero, Manny, and maybe that is why I push you so hard at times. But, no matter what you eventually choose, I know that you will always have that good heart. And because of that, no matter what choices you make - even the ones that I may scold you for - just remember that I will always care about you and love you, mijo.”

Manny’s smile grew, and without hesitation, he hugged his father. “I love you too, Papa.” Rodolfo returned the hug, patting his back a couple times before putting him down.

“Well, now that that’s been taken care of, why don’t you walk Frida home. It’s getting late, after all.” After a moment, he gave a small smirk. “Or, maybe I should call her ‘Guitarra’ instead, huh Fred?” As soon as he said it, they could hear a muffled cry of surprise from the hallway.

Manny gaped at him in disbelief. “W- H-How did you-?!”

“What, you do not think I would remember the boy and his friend who helped me become a hero just because he turned out to be my future son?” he asked. Not really having an answer for that, Manny just shrugged, giving a sheepish smile. 

Well, so much for keeping his time travel a secret. But, considering that his dad wasn’t too mad about it, Manny decided that it wasn’t much of a problem. And with that, he and Frida walked out the front door, and started heading downstairs.

“Well, that actually worked out better than we thought!” Frida commented, “Who would’ve thought a little time travel would not only help you guys make up, but help you guys understand each other better too?”

“Heh, yeah. Though, this is after we nearly destroyed my dad’s future.” “Yeah yeah, but at least we got it fixed!” Still, Manny wasn’t so keen on the idea of doing any more time traveling. Even if he had no idea what his own future would be, he didn’t want to risk it just for another fun, super cool, time traveling adventure to remember. 

…On the other hand. “Say, did you know that my Great Grandpapi’s sister married into a family of bullfighters?”

“Whoaaa, seriously? That’s almost as awesome as a family of superheroes and villains. …Althoughhh, my relatives might be even cooler. One of my cousins apparently got a ton of medals and could beat up a hundred banditos without even getting a scratch! And had a super cool eyepatch!”

“Sweet!” After a few more steps, the two friends stopped. Slowly turning to each other, they shared a smile. “Same time tomorrow?” “Definitely!”


End file.
